Kissing Santa Claus
by NaomiMiller
Summary: John tries to surprise his family on Christmas Eve. It doesn't all go according to plan.


**A/N: So I know it's a week or so late for Christmas, but I finally got this all typed up last night. I have become addicted to Almost Human and when this song came on the radio the other day this idea popped into my head. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: I claim nothing. All characters and places belong to Fox and the creators of the show.**

It was Christmas Eve and Valerie couldn't sleep. Her back was killing her and no matter how many times she rearranged herself, she couldn't get comfortable. After a while of this back and forth she finally gave up on sleeping and sat up. The space next to her was still cold and empty meaning her husband hasn't made it home from work yet. Being a detective on the police force he worked long and often unpredictable hours. Even on Christmas Eve. She had made him swear that he would have Christmas off this year though.

Valerie heaved her eight-month pregnant body out of the bed and stood, bracing her hands on her lower back and stretching. She felt a few places pop, but not enough. A glance at the clock projected onto the bedside table read almost two in the morning. She smiled, it was Christmas. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her of part of the reason that she was up. It seemed like she could never get enough food now that she was eating for two.

The house was quiet as she made her to the kitchen for a late night snack. She and John had bought this house five years ago after they had learned that she was pregnant with their first child. The place they had been living in didn't have enough room for a family. Not to mention the fact that John had a very specific idea of the kind of place he wanted to raise a family in. Valerie shook her head. The man really was something else some days, but that was just one of the many reasons that she loved him.

On her way to the kitchen she stopped and looked in on their four and a half year old son Brandon. He was sound asleep—or pretending to be asleep—with his favorite stuffed animal, a fluffy sheep named Trevor, hugged tightly to his chest. Brandon had inherited his mother's sandy brown hair with his father's piercing green eyes. He had been so excited about Christmas being the next morning it had taken Valerie nearly two hours to get him into bed. She smiled and closed the door. Until she had children of her own, she had almost forgotten the childlike glee that always seemed to accompany Christmas.

As lost in her thoughts as she was, Valerie didn't register the noises coming from down the hall until she was almost to the living room. She froze and automatically reached for where her gun was normally holstered on her hip, silently cursing when she remembered it was locked in the bedside safe where it was out of Brandon's reach.

Keeping an ear open for sounds indicating where the intruder was, she searched for something she could use as a weapon. Her eyes settled on Brandon's baseball bat where he had left it leaning against the wall after John had taken him out to the park the other day. It wasn't a full-size bat, but it was hefty enough to hurt someone if you got enough power behind it. She wrapped her hand around it and eased around the doorframe into the living room.

In the dim light coming from the lights on the Christmas tree she could see the silhouette of someone moving around the tree, oblivious to her presence. Valerie groped along the wall for a moment before her fingers found the light switch there and flicked it on..

"Freeze! Don't—" She broke off as she registered the fact that the person was wearing a Santa suit, white beard and all. What was going on? Whatever was happening, the person had frozen at the sound of her voice. After a brief pause they began to slowly turn around.

She lifted the bat higher, "I said don't move."

"Val, it's me."

She blinked. She knew that voice. "John?"

Santa finally faced her and upon seeing those green eyes over the fluffy white beard, she realized that it was, in fact, her husband underneath the yards of red velvet.

"What are you doing? I didn't even hear you get home."

He pulled the beard down to talk. "Well, I thought I might surprise Brandon by dressing up as Santa Claus in case he came through here when I got home." He gave her an apologetic grin, "I guess I should've let you in on it too huh?"

Valerie lowered the bat, "Yeah, you probably should have. You're lucky it was just this bat I had and not my gun."

He came over and placed his hands on either side of her bulging stomach, pulling her closer. "I guess it serves me right; sneaking around a police officer's home."

"It does," she replied, looking up at him and putting on a show of pretending to be angry at him. They both knew she wasn't.

He looked at the bat still in her hand and chuckled. "Were you really going to take me out with that bat? That thing couldn't harm a fly."

She smacked him with.

"Ow! Okay, point taken. You'd think by now I should know not to mess with you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, still holding the bat, "You should."

He leaned closer to her, "That'll probably leave a mark you know."

She closed the distance between them some more until they were almost nose to nose. "Good."

Valerie smiled when he captured her lips with his and wrapped his arms around her. The world narrowed to just the two of them. They were startled apart a moment later by a small voice coming from behind them.

"Mommy, why are you kissing Santa Claus?"

**A/N: As always I would love to know what you think. Leave a message after this note. ~Naomi**


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